JOSEPH SMITH THE 2D.
The Famous Mormon Talks on the Subject of Polygamy.
A Strong Denunciation of " the Twin Relic" by a Son of the Man Who is Popularly Supposed to Have First Preached the Doctrine of Dual Marriage— Three Cogent Reasons Why a Man Should Have hut One Wife— Arguments of the Polyga- mists Refuted— A Remarkable Dis- course at Kirtlan J.
KIRTLAND, 0., April 10.—[ Special.]— Saturday evening the saints gathered to the temple and listened to " the boy preacher of London," R. C. Evans. This young man is from London, Ontario, Canada, and although just verging into manhood, is a speaker of remarkable eloquence, and his reputation for speaking has gained him the title of the boy preacher of London. The following is a synopsis of his discourse:
" ' What think ye of Christ?' are the words I will choose for my text. There are many and varied opinions of this personage called Christ. There are many learned men who entertain opposite opinions of him; on one side we find learned, scientific and refined men who believe that he was the Christ— son of the living God. On the other hand there are just as great men, some of the most brilliant minds ever known, who do not believe in him. We cannot, then, go to this source for true information. Said one noble skeptic in his writings, ' 1 could kiss the ground that Jesus walked on; he was a good man, but he was not the son of God.' My friends, this is the false logic that hides the monster infidelity. Christ was either the son of God or he was a most in- famous impostor and liar. Why, even his historian, Josephus, hesitated to call him a man, and says, ' this man, if indeed it be law- ful to call him a man, for he raised the dead, etc.'
JESUS MORE THAN A MEDIUM. Others say that Jesus was a spiritual medium, and one of the greatest that ever lived, but we think he was more than that. Did you ever hear of a Spiritualist stilling the waves of Galilee? Others say tbeBibleisagoodbook, but they cannot understand it; it is because they do not read it aright. Why, the books of Moses all foretell Christ. We find the prophecy that " a virgin should bring forth a male child who should save the people from their sins," and the prophecy of Rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted. At Bethlehem we see a virgin bring forth a male child who was in- deed a Savior of the people. And then the edict goes forth from King Herod that all the children under 2 years old in Bethlehem shall be slain—' Rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted.' Here we see the literal fulfillment of the prophecies.
"' What think ye of Christ' as a dutiful son? See him obeying the commands or his father all his life, even to being baptised. When John was astonished that Jesus should ask to be baptised by him, Christ said: ' Suf- fer it to be so, for thus it becometh us to ful- fill all righteousness,' And not only was Christ himself baptized but he taught bap- tism. He said: ' Except ye arc born again of water and the spirit, ye cannot be saved.' Some say that Jesus did not baptise. Let us look at the scriptures and see. We find that ' Jesus went down to the land of Judea and tarried there and baptised. But soine say there is a passage of Scripture that says Jesus did not baptise. Here it is: ' When, the/ efore, the- Lord kile" w ' and the.. Pharisees had heard that Jesus baptised more than John,' and in the next verse it says, ' and Jesus did not baptise, but his dis- ciples.' Here is without doubt a mistransla- tion. In one verse it asserts that Jesus bap- tised, and in the next it says that Jesus did not baptize, but his disciples did. In the Mi- spired translation this reads, ' But Jesus did not baptize as many as his disciples.'
" Again some say that Jesus baptized not of water, but of the spirit. No^, it was at least two years before Christ's death that his dis- ciples were
BAPTIZED OF WATER, and just before his death he says to them, ' But ye shall be ba2^ tized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.'
" We have seen Christ in life; now let us look at his death. He was a man of sorrow; he bore our strifes; he died for us. The cast- ing of lots for his garment and the betrayal for thirty pieces of silver was also a literal fulfillment of a prophecy given cen- turies before. Hear his cry as he hung on the cross, ' My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me!' If a man has a spark of humanity left that ago- nized cry should win from him divine love for that Savior.- Years before liis birth we . find a prophecy of that cry, ' Eli, Eli, lama sabacthani!' and at his death we see it lit- erally fulfilled. ' What think ye of Christ?' Then he was buried, and so dark was that hour that the earth trembled. No Avonder his sorrowful disciples said they would go back to their fishing. Thejr had looked to him to redeem the world, and now in the beginning of the work he left them. No wonder they felt disheartened in that dark hour.
" But, lo, an angel rolls the stone away, and the son of God again appears. He speaks cheering words to them, and tells them it is for their good that he goes away for a time, but he leaves the blessed assurance that he will come again. ' What think ye of Christ?' "
AN INCIDENT OF BRIG HAM YOUNG.
Elder E. C. Brand, who has for many years been an active minister of the re- organized church, and who feels a deep in- terest in overthrowing the damnable practice of polygamy, has seen and heard some of the " peculiar" goings- on in Utah, and made to your reporter the following, statement: " I emigrated to Utah in 1865. At the first visit I made to the old tabernacle, after the sermon of a brother, Brigham Young got up and said: ' We have some nasty apostates here who want to go to California— hell's kitchen. Administer the new dispensation to them' ( pntting his thumb across his throat). ' Send them to hell across lots, and you, sis- ters, if you see your husbands lying in the streets with their throats cut, pass on and take no notice or you will lie there too. We are going to lav righteousness to the line and judgment to the plummet, and now let all Israel say amen. The house, containing about 3,000 persons, came down like an echo,' Amen!' "
These apostles wished to go to California because of the abominable practices in Utah, of which they were heartily tired; but, as before stated, Brigham was of extraordinary will power, and managed to keep his people pretty will under his thumb.
A FOLLOWER OF STRANG.
Mr. L. D. Ilickey of Michigan is here wit- nessing the conference. Mr. ilickey is one of the followers of James Strang of Beaver island notoriety, and has failed to unite with the reorganized church. Mr. Hickey says that " on the 18th of June, 1844, Joseph Smith, ' sr., wrote a letter to Mr. Strang ( afterwards called King Strang) telling him that he ( Joseph) had-, received an intimation that his end drew near and appointing Strang his successor. This letter was mailed at Nauvoo on the 19th of June and bears the Nauvoo postmark. It is now in the possession oC James Strang's son Charles of northern Michigan. On the 9th of July ( Joseph having died on the 27th of June, James Strang made that let- ter public and shortly after claimed his posi- tion as leader of the people, but he obtained only a part of the sa ; as his followers. The Brighatnites all- that the letter bad been forged, but on iboicing at the register books in the Nauvoo postoffice the book for the quarter during which the letter was mailed could not be found, although the books for every other quarter since the post- office had started were at hand."
The reorganized people do not recognize Strang as having been a prophet.
With his band of followers Strang went to Beaver island, Mich., where he lived and ruled until he was assassinated. Here he gained the title - of " king," and he was tried in the supreme court of Michigan for treason, but the court held that his kingdom was more of a spiritual kingdom than tem- poral, and he was acquitted.
THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST.
Mr. Joseph Lambert spoke at the Sunday morning services and took for his text, " My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me." Mr. Lambert is a fluent speaker, and the saints were much edified by his remarks. He endeavored to show that anyone could prove that Christ's doctrine was of God by testing it, and the test was in this: A man must first obey the commandments of Christ, ancl if he does this he will have evidence from the spirit within him that the doctrine is true, but unless a man obeys Christ's teaching he has no power to judge whether the belief is true or erroneous. In other words, " these signs shall follow those who believe."
TALKING IN TONGUES.
During the morning services a woman rose and talked for several moments in a strange tongue that the Gentiles present could not understand. After the following translation was furnished the PLAIN DEALER:
Interpretation of tongue given at prayer and testimony meeting Sunday morning:
The tongue was spoken by an elderly lady and the interpretation thereof by the spirit.
Thus saith the spirit: Your fastings and prayers are well pleasing in my sight; your petitions are heard and shall be answered as seemeth me good. For 1 always hear and answer my saints when they humble them- selves before me in fasting and prayer; and when they receive and keep my word, then are they blessed above all other people, but when they reject my counsels they rest under greater condemnation than those who know me not. Therefore be ye very humble and prayerful, and keep all my words and ask not for my commands unless you are willing to obey them. And when you ask aught you shall receive my word through my ser- vant Joseph, even as I have appointed, for I will reveal unto him from time to time such things as shall be for your benefit, as also the benefit of the children of men, whether they will hearken unto me or not. Stand ye in holy places, even as I have commanded, that the destructions decreed may not over- take you as they overtake the world. This is a time of calamities and a time of blessings upon the just as well as the unjust.
A MARRIAGE.
At the close of the forenoon serv- ices Mr. John Lake, one of the apostles, who resides in Canada, and Mrs. Woods of. Pittsburg, Pa., were united in matrimony. The ceremony is the same as in other Christian churches. Mr. W. H. Ivelley officiated, and " pronounced them man and wife in the name of Jesus Christ." The inevitable congratulations en- sued and the happy pair en- tered unto their new relations on a very pleasant and sunshiny day, which, we trust, will be typical of their life as man and wife.
There are a good many visitors here today, and forty minutes before the temple doors were thrown open for the afternoon services a large crowd stood in front of the entrance ready to rush for seats.
A BAPTISM.
At 1 o'clock p. m. a party repaired to the Chagrin river, near at hand, and Elder E. L. Kelley baptized three ladies. A prayer was offered and as the elder led into the water a sister, a verse of the hymn " Am I a soldier of the cross" was sung. When j in the center of the stream, Elder Kelley repeated these words: " Having been com- missioned of Jesus Christ, 1 baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, amen," and then im- mersed the lady.
The eerejnony representing the burial and resurrection to life everlasting was very im- pressive, and as they emerged from the water this verse of the hymn was sung.
" Sure I must fight if I would reign,
Increase my courage, Lord.
I'll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by thy word."
Itis not officially stated, but we are informed that President Smith has told some of the brethren that he has received an important revelation; that it lasted nearly half- of SafeaMsy night, and that" it will " probably create considerable astonishment among the saints. We infer that it is in relation to fill- ing several church offices.
THE AFTERNOON SERVICES.
Every seat in the temple was full at the opening of the afternoon worship Sunday, and all down the aisles saints and guests were seated in chairs. At one end of the room sat Joseph and the members of the Melchisedek priesthood, in the pulpit of three compartments, rising one above the other. At the other end of the room, in a similar pulpit, sat the members of the Aaronic- priesthood. " Oh, how good it is to be blest and dwell in peace and righteous- ness," was the first hymn, followed by prayer and a hymn beginning " Let us walk m the light."
JOSEPH SMITH'S SERMON.
" I will account," said President Smith, " for my faith in this matter, not as an apology but as an explanation. 1 became identified with this work in 1860, and am and always have been an antagonist of polygamy. It is a question that has both- ered the minds of men for years and the so- lution of which would be the pride of states- men. As a people we have solved it, as far as our allegiance is concerned, and I will give our reasons for such a stand. I will not enter into the physiological features of it. As we have taken an opposite course to the body of people in the west it behooves us to explain our views. I take it for granted that when God made the earth he knew what he was about, and so did Jesus when lie promulgated the doctrines and principles of his religion. When the earth was created God placed on it one man and one woman. Orson Pratt concedes that man in the Garden of Eden was immortal, and that their relations were intended to Be of a celestial nature. Now, it seems that if God intended to have polygamy, he would have created for Adam two women.
" But God gave another evidence that he intended man to take one woman unto him- self. WJien the flood had destroyed the whole population of the earth except one family, and it was to be rcpeopled, he gave Noah and his sons each one wife. If the Jehovah had desired to change his plans here was a chance, but it was lost. When it pleased the Lord to speak a third time to his children on earth, this time through the book of Mor- mon, he again set theexample of monogamy by leading Lehi out of Jerusalem with but one wife. Here is a third mistake if God ever intended to change his plan. As to the Latter Day Saints they base their faith on these three divine records in the holy book of Jehoval, all in favor of single marriage. It would seem that for Latter Day Saints this evidence ought to be enough, but God is a singular being; his ways are not our ways. After experimenting twice in pop- ulating the world, it is a wonderful thing that he should make a mistake the third time. The object of this pair was the peo- pleing of the earth. Go back to the days of Noah and read in Genesis where the wives of men were taken from them for marrying indiscriminately, and listen to the voice of God saying, ' I will not suffer the daughters of Israel to weep for the abominations of their husbands.' This is the first point from which we treat the subject; we will now turn to the second,
THE MATERIAL SIDE.
Although in Massachusets there is an ex- cess of women, it happens that polygamy is not practiced there. In 1850 there were more men in Utah than women, and it is an indisputable fact that such is the case todav; and in 1884 there were 1,200 boys born in Utah to 1,100 girls. I say this because the Utah Mormons make a justification of polyg- amy on the grounds that all women shoufd be married and there are. more men than women, so that some must have more than one wife. Now, in a state where there were the same number of women and men, if half the men married two women the other half would have to go without, and I imagine that would create" a disturbance. Again
POLYGAMY IS JUSTIFIED by some on the grounds that ' more children are raised and the kingdom of Zion built up. I have taken pains to get statistics in Salt Lake City, and it is true that the polygamous wife does not average as many children as the monogamous wife. One man had 19 wives and 47 children, making an average of 2i children to one woman. The average of a monogamous wife is at least three children. This line of the subject I don't care to dis- cuss farther and we now come to the third branch,
THE SPIRITUAL SIDE. In Genesis we read, ' Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh,' and in Malachi, ' Take heed to your spirit and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.' Have you read in Matthew that a man shall cleave unto his wife and ' they twain shall be as one flesh'? Now, Christ has put in this word ' twain,' and I defy any man between the two oceans to make it read three. But we also read that David and Solomon had many wives and concubines. In the book of Mor- mon it says: ' There shall not any man among ye have save it is one wife and concjibines he shall have none.' And after the Lord had told this to Jacob, he said to got up into the temple to preach it, and he has said the same thing to me.
A GOOD WORD FOR OHIO.
" I believe Ohio has escaped some of the opprobipm common to western states in re- gard to divorcing, and I am glad of it. I was born in this state. See how the mind of the divine master grasped that subject. In Mark we read, ' And they twain shall be one flesh, so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What, then, God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.' I have heard men say they could love twelve women, but if I loved twelve women I'd give the world to understand that I did not love one of them as much as I ought to. I ask you what am I to do in the face of these commandments of God. Some- one answers that we live in a day of pro- gression. But I do not consider that God is two- faced, and if he should change those ex- plicit commands I would be under the neces- sity of thinking he lied.
" I have
BORNE A DESPISED NAME all my life and have had the finger of scorn pointed at me as the son of old Joe Smith. If I had not been a strong man I would have broken down and given up the fight, but I examined the book of Mormon and found that I had no reason to blush or turn pale from fear. I am under holy obligation to do all 1 can to overthrow this evil. In 1844 fhere was a peculiar test of the. Lord's will on this subject. The church here selected Sidney Rigdon and P. P. Pratt as a committee to visit and labor with the Shakers in regard to the marriage question. They were unable to agree, and the Lord revealed himself unto them in a vision and directed that man and wife should be twain to the end that the earth might answer the object of its creation.
" I believe that this country was discovered that there might be a land of religious and civil liberty, and that under its protecting agency there might be established the true church of God. It is a striking fact that this faith should have started in New York, ripened in Ohio and afterward moved to Illinois and Missouri, states all under monogamous laws, if the Lord had intended to permit dual marriage as part of the new dispensation. How much better it would have been to have taken the little colony to the far west, where polygamy would not have been interfered with for years."
Mr. Smith here read from the book of Covenant a number of passages to show that the original church of Jesus Christ was ut- terly hostile to polygamy. Continuing he said: " God commands us to be
SUBJECT TO THE POWERS THAT BE, and our church is not at liberty to establish in its ritual any practice that will offend the righteous laws of the land. So the laws of this country prohibit polygamy, and as a good citizen and a" consistent Christian I am bound to obey them a3 far as my conscience will allow. In our book of Covenant God says he has established the constitution of the United States for a specific purpose and that we must live in accordance with it. There is not an obligation on anyone entering this church to violate their past marriage vows and on the contrary we demand that they live I'. j to them. Inasmuch as this church has been reproached with the crime of po- lygamy we wish to say to the world right now that we believe and always will believe that one man should have one wife and none other so long as she shall live. Down to 1S7C there was no change made in the book of C cvenaht and then certain passages were expunged and the heresies of Brigham Young and Orson Pratt • were substituted. For fourteen years
UNDER MONOGAMIC RULE the saints increased in number from 6 to 100,- 000: then came heresies and we were scat- tered like chaff before the wind. I am asked, ' Joseph Smith, son of the martyr, don't you know that your father practiced polygamy?' No, I don't know any such thing. As far as my personal knowledge goes, as well as that of my mother, the question of dual marriage' ? was never heard of in our household up to the time of my father's death. i It has been conclusively proven that no issue of my father in polygamy was ever found. He left no children but by his lawful wedded wife. Is it reasonable to suppose that a man in the first flush of manhood could have formed liasons of this kind and have no i issue? I have been called a degenerate son of a noble sire, but I am content to stand by the commands of my God rather than those of my father. If Joseph Smith or Sidney Rigdon ever practiced polygamy ^
IT WAS DONE SECRETLY and in defiance of the laws of the land and of the church, and though I am . the son of one of those men I say that if he sinned he must take the consequences for his diverg- ence from God's laws. It makes no differ- ence if Joseph Smith did practice polygamy, it still remains a sin, for all the laws of God— spiritual and physiological— point to this one central truth— one wife."
Elder Joseph Ludd of Iowa preached to- night.
BRIGHAM STILL DEAD.
A PLAIN DEALER representative asked Mr. Smith today what he thought of the story that has recently gone the rounds of the press to the effect that Brigham Young had arisen from the dead and had been seen in the flesh by a number of persons. Mr. Smith laughed and said the story was non- sense. and was probably started by some newspaper as a " canard."
THE EDMUNDS BILL.
Mr. Smith did not think the Edmunds bill would accomplish much toward suppressing polygamy. " More rigorous measures are needed," he said. " The confis- cation of property wont do, for you won't find any property. Enforce the laws already in existence and you have the remedy. Prosecute every polygamous Mor- mon for bigamy and see to it that convic- tions follow. This, in my opinion, will eventually stamp out the evil. The younger generation that is growing up will not adopt polygamy with certain imprisonment staring them in the face. The women already hate it, and when the present genera- tion, who are deeply grounded in this heresy, pass away there will be but few to keep it in the' church. One young man in Salt Lake City told me that he had but one wife and never intended to have any more and that there were 50,000 more like him. The Josephites have a mission church in Salt Lake City and there are about 800 members of the reorganized church in the whole terri- tory. What the
FUTURE OF THE UTAH CHURCH will be no man can tell, but I believe that polygamy will be done away with and the tw^ o branches of our church " united. Until then we must remain utterlv hostile to the Brighamites. And in this connection let me say that I am grateful to see that a great journal like the PLAIN DEALER is willing to do us justice and place our course before the public in the true light."
